The slip box according to Luhmann and the AI from neuland.ai

The neuland.ai AI is inspired by Niklas Luhmann

Niklas Luhmann, a doctoral philosopher from the University of Bielefeld, designed the "Zettelkasten": index cards that are interlinked through references. These references point to connected, additional key points. The AI of neuland.ai is inspired by this.

What is a Zettelkasten?

A Zettelkasten can be, for example, a box of index cards. Here, keywords are written on slips of paper, often with detailed descriptions. We know from school that the index cards are sorted by topics: biology, history, ...

Regular index cards vs. Zettelkasten according to Luhmann

Niklas Luhmann had a collection of 30,000 index cards in his first phase of life (1928 – 1955). These index cards are – unlike conventional ones – not roughly sorted by topics and piled up. Luhmann drew connections between the cards and linked them: on each slip/index card, he referenced related index cards with numbers and figures. With the references on the respective index cards, a connected knowledge network was created: 90,000 index cards were interconnected by the end of his life.

Example of Luhmann's Zettelkasten

The keyword "Generative AI" would be connected to the topic OpenAI (as a publisher for private users), with the "European AI Act", with "data security", with "rising energy consumption of industrial countries". The "European AI Act" could in turn be connected to legal fields and a comparison of the US Administration, as an AI Act takes place there.

Why is Luhmann's Zettelkasten system so good?

A knowledge network can be built that can be personalized: connections can be noted and determined. Users can decide which connections to draw – perhaps only if there is an entry in the World Guinness Book for that event? The ability to personalize the knowledge network is important for companies that want to use AI with corporate knowledge.

How can companies utilize the knowledge?

The AI from neuland.ai accesses company knowledge – in an advanced way. The neuland.ai AI not only searches for which information thematically fits the prompt. Rather, it follows the "knowledge path" that has been developed. This makes the results of the neuland.ai AI more accurate and deeper – and not just generic surface knowledge like with ChatGPT.